Ghosts
by WitchGirl
Summary: A young girl demands to know a secret her parents are hiding when strange occurrences involving a knife and a locket begin to threaten her life. A little something in it for everyone. Yes, please R&R!
1. Quest For Truth

Ghosts  
  
Summary: A young girl demands to know a secret her parents are hiding when strange occurrences involving a knife and a locket begin to threaten her life.  
  
I never thought about it before. About the smile on their face whenever they saw James. I mean, sure, I thought he was cute, why else would I say yes when he asked me out? He was sweet, and great fun. I couldn't find a flaw in him at all. But they could. My parents could.   
My mother always found my appearance strange. I looked nothing like her or my father. She found it frightening and I didn't know why. Sometimes, when she caught me and James laughing together, her eyes would water and she'd run off to her bedroom.  
"Why do I bother you so, Mom?" I asked her once after she did this. Usually, she wouldn't answer, but now, she felt like talking.  
"It's not your fault, honey," she gave me a hug and then reached over on the table where a silver chain lay with a charm on it. The charm was in the shape of a heart and was silver, like it's chain. She put it around my neck.  
"Here, Lucy, I want you to have this," she told me, clasping it.  
"What is it?" I asked.  
"Do you remember our friend? A friend of your father's and I?" she asked me, "The one that... Past away?"  
"Yes," I answered, then struggled to find the name, "A Carter. A Dr. John Carter," My mother smiled. I loved it when she smiled. Her smile seemed to light up the room and her brown eyes glistened.  
"Yes. He was a great man, and a wonderful friend. Your boyfriend reminds me of him."  
"James? Really?" I asked, "Is that why you become so upset when I have him over?" my mother nodded and I pulled a strand of her brown hair out of her face.  
"Yes," she told me, "And I'm sorry for that. Well, Dr. Carter, he owned this necklace. According to Elizabeth, he had kept it for a long time, intending to... to give it to someone. Someone who was special to him. But she unexpectedly... she died.  
"When you were born, Carter helped us a lot in caring for you. He asked, graciously, if he could name you and he said he would understand if we didn't let him. I liked the idea. And so, I discussed it with your father and told him the name John wanted to name you. He liked it. And so, we called you Lucy,"  
"Was Lucy the name of the girl that died?" I asked. My mother nodded.  
"I never knew her very long before she died, your father knew her longer than I did."  
"How could I find out more about Lucy?" I asked, interested in my namesake.  
"Elizabeth Corday might know about her," my mother thought.  
"Abby," someone said. I spun around and saw my father in the doorway, "Now, what are we talking about?"  
"Your daughter wants to know more about Lucy Knight," she answered him.  
"Ah, Lucy Knight," my father sighed, "So many stories behind that name!"  
"What do you know about her Dad?" I asked him.  
"Well," sighed my Dad, "She looked like you, blond, blue eyes... Very nice girl. We weren't very close."  
"How'd she die?" I asked him.  
"Maybe we should discuss this later," my father was uncomfortable with the subject. I knew that I shouldn't press further. But I was curious now, and so, I told my parents I was going out to see Ella.  
"Come home soon," my mom called. I smiled and nodded and was gone.  
  
"Hello, Lucy!" Elizabeth greeted me at the door, "Come to see Ella?"  
"Yes, actually, but... Could I speak with you first?"  
"Of course," she smiled graciously and led me to the living room. I sat down in a comfy green armchair and she sat across from me, "What was it you wanted to speak with me about?"  
"Well..." I started. I didn't really know how to say this, but I tried none the less, "I was thinking... well, did you know Lucy Knight well?" Elizabeth just looked at me and it made me uncomfortable. Finally, she took a breath and sighed.  
"I did. Why do you want to know about her?"  
"My mother won't tell me much."  
"What has she told you?" Elizabeth asked, trying to sound casual. I could see I was upsetting her and I knew I should have stopped there, but curiosity overpowered my better judgement.  
"Nothing, really. She said that Dad knew her better than she did..." Elizabeth was trying to figure out exactly what I meant. I thought I'd made it pretty clear.  
"She said... Your Dad..."  
"Yes. Well, she said he knew her better, but when I asked him, he didn't want to talk about it." Elizabeth relaxed. She understood now.  
"Lucy Knight was a medical student at your parents' hospital in 1998 to 2000. She worked under Dr. John Carter."  
"Why did she only work there until 2000?" I asked.  
"Well, you see, that's just it. Lucy was stabbed to death in February. She was treating a patient, Paul Sobriki, and he was schizophrenic. He thought she wanted to hurt her." For some reason, I had a feeling Dr. Carter didn't do too well after she died. I never met him before in my life, but I had a strange feeling... And so, I asked.  
"And Dr. Carter? How did he take her death?"  
"John was stabbed as well that night, but they saved him but couldn't save Lucy. He blamed himself for the whole thing. He didn't think Paul was dangerous and he wasn't really paying attention to her patient. He felt he should have treated Lucy with more respect when she was alive. I can't really tell you how he felt. Dr. Chen or Dr. Weaver knew him better than I did. Or perhaps your mother. I can help you with a few matters about Lucy though."  
"Thank you." I smiled at her. I could tell that Lucy Knight wasn't a name mentioned often among the older staff of County General, even eighteen years after her death.  
"Should I call Ella?" Elizabeth asked. I looked at my watch.  
"Actually, I'm sorry, I should be getting home now. Tell her I stopped by, though." Elizabeth nodded.  
  
At my house that night, it was quiet at the dinner table. I looked up at my parents. They didn't seem very happy. It was the first time that I realized that even under all those smiles, all those fun family trips, all those affectionate hugs and kisses, there had always been an awkwardness between them. And me and my Dad were close, but there had always been an awkwardness between us as well.  
"Pass the broccoli," my Dad said. My mother did so quietly.  
"So..." I said, trying to kick start a conversation, "How are things?"  
"Things are... Good." She was lying, I knew she was lying.  
"Really?" I asked, cheerfully and interested, pretending I believed her, "Well, that's great! How are you, Dad?"  
"Good." One word. Less than what my mom said.  
"Well, that's terrific! Just peachy!" now I let sarcasm inch into my voice. My mom detected it and shot me a warning look. I realized how loud my voice was in the quiet room.  
"Lucy, is there something you want to tell us?" My Dad asked, looking across the table at me.  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is!" I answered him, coolly.  
"Really?" my mom asked, using my sardonic, seemingly interested tone, "And what might that be?"  
"I went to see Ella today and ended up talking to her mother," I told her casually, though my voice was rising. If I had been in theater class at that moment, my teacher would have praised me on projecting my voice without shouting.  
"Well!" my mother declared, in the same tone, except with the smallest bit of anger, "Isn't that lovely!"  
"Yes, it was, actually!" this conversation would have been nice were it not for the coolness in our attitudes and the tension in the air.  
"And what did you talk about?" my Dad asked, putting in his sarcasm.  
"Actually, we talked about Lucy Knight. You know, it's amazing how many people don't like to talk about her! You know John Carter? I heard he didn't do too well after she was STABBED BY A SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENT!" I shouted the last bit, unable to control myself. My Dad stood up.  
"Now that's enough, young lady!"  
"You listen to me this time!" I retorted, standing up myself, "You won't tell me ANYTHING about Lucy Knight! You won't even tell me anything about John Carter! In fact, you won't tell me jack shit about anything!"  
"LUCY SERENA KOVAC!" my mother cried, standing up as well, "Sit down this instant!"  
"No, I will not sit down, thank you mother!" I snapped, "I'm perfectly fine standing up!"  
"Lucy, now, see here!"  
"See where? I don't see anything! All I see is a cloudy haze because YOU DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING!"  
"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"  
"It has a lot to do with this! If you'd told me, I wouldn't have had to go and disturb Elizabeth about Lucy! You should have told me she was murdered!"  
"You should leave the past be! The past is the past and has nothing to do with me!"  
"It has EVERYTHING to do with me!" I screamed, "I AM the past! I am the future! I am Lucy Serena Knight and I demand to know-" I stopped in mid-sentence. My parents were staring at me. I looked at them, puzzled, "What, what'd I-" I stopped again. I knew what I had just said. I had called myself Lucy Serena Knight. That shocked them. It even shocked myself. But I ignored it and went on.  
"What I meant to say was I am Lucy Serena Kovac and I demand to know about my namesake!"  
"There is no point in digging up old painful memories! It will do you know good and it will be hurtful to other people so let the past rest! Let memories settle and let things BE!" my father yelled.  
"I would if I knew what these things WERE!"  
"WHY ARE WE ALL SCREAMING?!" Finally, my mother stepped in. My Dad and I looked at her, "Now, sit down, both of you! It's about time you listen to me!" we obeyed and settled in our seats.  
"Eighteen years ago, before our Lucy here was born or even conceived, there was a girl named Lucy Knight and she worked with us. She was very talented and would have made a great doctor. Unfortunately, she was murdered and there is nothing we can do about it. Yes, it is a tragedy, and God has strange timing, but he must have taken her for a reason. Now let's leave it at that!" my mother said calmly. There was silence for a while.  
"Actually," I finally said, "I wasn't really looking for information about Lucy Knight."  
"What were you looking for?" my mom asked.  
"Info on John Carter," I answered. Silence again. Uneasy, tense silence. I didn't like it. A moment ago, I would have been screaming at them asking why they weren't telling me, but now that we were calmed down a little, I realized that this was more complicated than I thought. My Mom exchanged glances with my Dad, who nodded. My Mom turned back to me.  
"Lucy, sweetie," she smiled sweetly and kindly and took a chair next to me, taking my hand in hers and stroking my hair with another.  
"What is it Mom?" whenever she did this, it was always before she was about to tell me something upsetting.  
"What I'm about to tell you may be hard to understand or even accept at first, but... well..." she looked at my Dad for support, but he just sadly shook his head.  
"Mom?"  
"You're fifteen now, sweetie, fifteen years old. And, Luka and I, we promised, when the time was right... when you were ready..."  
"Ready for what?"  
"Honey, your father... Luka... He... Luka isn't your father." I looked at my mother. It was shocking being told your Dad wasn't your real Dad, but I figured, this must happen all the time to adopted kids. Was I adopted?  
"Are... Are you my real mom?" she nodded. This confused me a bit. Maybe Luka was a step dad. But I had grown up all my life thinking he was my blood kin. So who was this stranger I knew so well?  
"Luka and I married shortly after you were born, but he isn't your biological father. Your father died before you were born, when I was only two months pregnant with you."  
"Was he... was he..." my mother just nodded. I gasped, "He wasn't John Carter, was he?"  
"Honey, I lied to you. I told you that John took care of you as a child, and requested to name you. The truth is, we were dating and we were even thinking of marriage. I pushed him into telling me the names he would name his children. He said if it were a girl, he'd definitely name her Lucy. If it were a boy, he might name him Robert. I smiled because they were touching answers. So after he died and you were born, I named you Lucy because he would have wanted that. And your fa- I mean, Luka, he was there when you were born. He chose your middle name. I thought it was lovely. So you see, Luka is like your real father, except..."  
"Except he isn't," I finished for her.  
"Lucy..."  
"No, I understand," I lied.  
"Lucy..." my father, or rather my stepfather tried to reason with me.  
"I'm not finished," my mother continued, "Luka and I... Before I was with Carter, I went out with Luka. Things didn't go too well and we broke up. Soon after, Carter and I got together and for a whole two years we were happy. But soon after you were conceived, there was an accident... a car accident. He died on impact. His head it the wheel and the windshield... anyway, when I was grieving, Luka... well, he..."  
"I fell in love with her all over again," Luka answered, "And I promised I'd help her get through. Though, I could never really love her the way I once did and I don't think she could love me the same way either and we didn't really get married for each other, but more for you because we knew you needed a family. Too many of our friends had children and only one parent. Carol Hathaway had twins and had to raise them on her own for a while and Ella had a father once..."  
"Mark Greene?" I asked, "Poor Elizabeth. Ella said she's never been the same since."  
"We didn't want you to have that, Lucy," My mom explained, "I wanted you to be happy. And you have been. But we had to tell you. It's not right lying to someone for their whole life."  
"Yeah, sure, I get it," I lied again, "You lied to me, telling me that someone else is my real father when I have never even seen a picture of the man who actually happens to be my father! And now, you suddenly spring it on me! 'Oh, yeah, and Lucy, I forgot, Luka isn't your real Dad! Pass the potatoes!' I mean really!"  
"Lucy, it's not like that and you know it!" my mother glared at me.  
"It is like that! And I share the name of a guy I thought I knew! What else are you going to say? I have leukemia? My twin sister was abducted? What?"  
"Lucy, you have no disease, let alone a twin sister!"  
"That's what Scully told Mulder when they saw those two boys that looked exactly alike!"  
"Lucy, I refuse to be related to a TV show!"  
"Why? My life's nothing but a big soap opera anyway!"  
"Lucy-"  
"No, you know what? Don't even try!" I screamed, getting up from the table and I stormed away to my room furious.  
"You did the right thing, Abby," I heard Luka say.  
"Did I?"  
  
TBC  
  
R/R  
  
R/R NOW! Please, I'm experimenting with this and have a good idea where it's going (Yeah, for once) and I want you to guess! That's right, guess! Abby and Luka have other reasons for lying to their daughter and what do Jing-Mei and Kerry have to say about Carter? Will Dave have anything to do with this? Why does James look like Carter and why does Lucy Jr. not look like her mother... yes yes, with all this in mind, review faithfull reader and tune in next time to "Ghosts!" 


	2. Dr. Carter's Notebook

They painted up your secrets  
With the lies they told to you  
And the least they ever gave you  
Was the most you ever knew  
And I wonder where these dreams go  
When the world gets in your way  
What's the point in all this screaming?  
No one's listening anyway  
  
I stayed in my room for the rest of the night. My stereo played softly in the background. I'd made up my mind. Any information I could get on John Carter I would take. Any information I could get on Lucy Knight I would take. I was debating on running away, playing with the necklace my mom gave me, when I made a discovery. It wasn't a charm on the chain, it was a locket. I opened it and smiled. There was a picture of Lucy inside, smiling, happy. She was petite and blond and blue-eyed and sweet looking. She looked so young. And she died. I sighed. I decided I shouldn't run away. It would break my mother's heart and she's been through so much. But I was determined to learn about my real father and his old student. So I slept.  
  
Your voice is small and fading  
And you're hiding here alone  
And your mother loves your father  
Cuz she's got nowhere to go  
And she wonders where these dreams go  
Cuz the world got in her way  
What's the point in ever trying?  
Nothing's changing anyway  
  
I awoke early the next morning, before my parents were awake. I crept out into the hallway and looked at my Mom's address book. I wrote down any names that might be of help. Dave Malucci, Jing-Mei Chen, Kerry Weaver, Susan Lewis, Peter Benton... I scrambled through the desk drawer. Surely there must be something in there-  
"Wait a minute!" I whispered, finding a small book and taking it out. I opened it up. It had my Mom's address and Luka's so it couldn't have been either of theirs. I also saw names I'd never heard of as well as names I may have known. Anna DelAmico, Doug Ross, Carol Hathaway, Jeanie Boulet... I took this book and flipped to the first page again.  
"Property of John Truman Carter," I sighed, "My Dad." I tucked the address book away, looked at my watch, which read 4:30, grabbed my skates, left a note, and was out of the house, listening to my CD, playing in my diskman.  
  
They press their lips against you  
And you love the lies they say  
And I tried so hard to reach you  
But your falling anyway  
And you know I see right through you  
'Cause the world gets in your way  
What's the point in all the screaming  
You're not listening anyway  
  
I bladed down the street with ease. I had been inline skating for four years. I skated around for a while until I came to a Starbucks coffee place at 6:00. They were just opening. I took off my skates and went inside.  
"Gracious, you're up early! What could I get you?" the woman behind the counter asked me.  
"A cappuccino please, with a blueberry muffin," I asked. She smiled at me and gave me what I wanted. I paid her the money and took a seat by the window. It was still dark. The sun didn't rise early in January. The streets were pretty quiet. Only a few cars passed and a few early birds were out jogging or biking. But not many. It was Saturday and most people would be sleeping in. I sipped my coffee, lost in thought.  
I figured I'd go see Jing-Mei Chen first. I knew her fairly well and I thought she might be the easiest to talk to. After Jing-Mei, I'd visit Dave Malucci to find out what he knew. Then, I'd pay a visit to Peter and Cleo. I could say hi to Reese while I was there. After them, Kerry Weaver was next on my list. Lastly, I'd see Susan Lewis.  
I wished I could go to Seattle and talk to Kate and Tess and Doug and Carol. But my parents would forbid it. I figured I'd call them on the phone. I had a busy day ahead of me.  
When I was finished with my small breakfast, I set off to see Jing-Mei.  
"Why Lucy, what a surprise!" she smiled and let me in.  
"Hello," I smiled kindly back.  
"Please have a seat." I did so, "I haven't seen you or your parents for a while. How are they?"  
"You mean my mother and the person I thought my father was?" I asked. Jing-Mei's face fell.  
"I suppose they told you?" she asked, "About your father?"  
"If you mean the fact that my real Dad's dead then yes, they did tell me," I must have sounded colder than I intended. I was still angry about their lies. I apologized.  
"It's OK," she told me, "I can understand why you're angry. So why did you come by? Surely it couldn't have been for no reason."  
"Actually, I came to find out about my father," I answered her, truthfully and added, "My real father."  
"Yes," she nodded, "John Carter." She sighed, sadly, mentioning his name.  
"What do you know about my father?"  
"He was a great man, smart, kind, giving. He was cute, too. He would have been a prize for any woman. I had a crush on him. We went out for a while and weren't we a pair? But he was in love with Abby, not me, and I was sad to let him go. But we stayed friends and he held a special place in my heart. I miss him."  
"There must be something more. What happened after the attack?"  
"The attack?" Jing-Mei asked. She sounded surprised that I knew about it, "Do you mean... the one on Valentine's Day?"  
"All I know was it was in February. But Valentines Day?" I asked. She nodded.  
"To this day, a couple of us pay our respects on that day. To both John and Lucy."  
"Wow, that's terrible," I sighed. I would never think of the day in the same way, "How did it come about?"  
"Well," Jing-Mei began, "It all started when Lucy picked up Paul Sobriki's chart, I suppose..."  
I sat there hanging on every word to her account of the story. I would force Luka's account out as well as my Mom's. I wasn't heartless or cruel and I respected when people felt uncomfortable with a subject and usually never moved on. But I was changing for some reason at this point in my life and I was determined to find answers. I would stop at nothing, even courtesy and consideration wouldn't get in my way. I was as vicious as a hunter was and I would touch every button if I needed to in order to get all the information I could. I have no idea why I was so stubborn. It must have been my anger... Or was it?  
Something odd was going on recently. James, my boyfriend and I had just gotten into a fight. We were arguing. And recently, I'd been having nightmares about various things. As I listened to Jing-Mei's story, I remembered my most recent one.  
  
My eyes were wide open, staring at the man across from me on the floor, bleeding as I was. I saw his eyes wide with terror like mine. I saw his hand drop a silver necklace into the growing pool of crimson liquid around us. I was drowning in it. Choking and gasping for breath in the horrible thickness of the blood. All I could see was red now. I heard the knife clatter and I heard a voice that was not my own start screaming inside my head.  
  
"Lucy?" Jing-Mei asked. I blinked.  
"Hm?"  
"Are you alright?"  
"Yes, fine," I answered, "So you say John blamed himself for it. That's interesting."  
"Yes. But in May, Abby caught him... well..."  
"Drugs?" I asked.  
"Yes."  
"I figured," I nodded, "And what happened?"  
"He was shipped to Atlanta." Jing-Mei told me.  
"Is there anything after that? When he got back? Was he still depressed about Lucy?" I asked.  
"Come to think of it," Jing-Mei thought, "When he came back, we didn't really speak about her at all, really. I don't mean to sound like I didn't care, but I didn't really think about her either."  
"What about the next Valentine's Day? Did you talk about her then?" Jing-Mei frowned, troubled.  
"That's the odd part. No, we didn't. We mentioned the accident, I think, and asked Carter if he was OK, but Lucy didn't come up at all. I suppose, though, that she was on everyone's minds that day."  
"Why do you think you didn't talk about her?"  
"Well," she answered, "I think at first I didn't mention her out of courtesy for Carter. I didn't want him relapsing or anything. It may sound silly, but I thought that Lucy's name may have given him the urge to take something. So I said nothing about her or the addiction and he didn't say anything in return. Eventually, I didn't really think of Lucy at all after that. It's like it had never happened. Except that it had. Lucy had worked at the ER even though everyone went around pretending she hadn't. Lucy had come into work on Valentine's Day, even though people pretended it didn't matter. Lucy did treat Paul Sobriki and Lucy had tried to tell Carter that he was schizophrenic, even though people pretended to have forgotten. And Lucy had been killed because of it, even though people pretended she hadn't existed in the first place.  
"It didn't matter, though. Everyone went on working, pretending and believing Lucy Knight had never been there. When I think back on it now, I realize it was an insult to her memory and Lucy herself. But it made everyone happy to 'pretend' that that was the way they continued. You know..." Jing-Mei stopped.  
"What?" I asked.  
"It was the fourth of June, I think," Jing-Mei nodded, "Yes. He told me he was going to go get a drink. He said he had to get away from the hospital. I agreed. As he left, he let dropped a book. I tried to call after him to give it back, but he didn't hear me. I didn't open it, I figured I'd give it to him when he came back. Except he never did. He got in a car accident on the way back. We didn't find any alcohol in his system, but something had been wrong. After the funeral, I put the book in a drawer and never looked at it again." She stood up and walked over to a desk. She opened a drawer and dug through it to find a notebook. She gave it to me.  
"I think you should open it. It was your father's, anyway." I opened the book and saw some writing on the first page.  
  
They act as if she isn't here. Or wasn't here. Or whatever. They act as if they'd never known her. They act as if they never think about her. I think about her. Too often. And it hurts me that they don't and I'm sure it hurts her too.  
A patient called Lucy came in today. No one reacted. I did. She had bright blue eyes. No one saw it. I did. Even if someone had just casually remarked, or cruelly teased me, it would have shown me that they noticed, that they cared. A "Hey, Carter, does she remind you of someone?" or "Carter, the way she smiles reminds me of Lucy," would have been all I needed, really. But no one said anything. No one even seemed concerned that I might see something of her in the patient. They acted as if it were any other patient. Maybe that's the way I should act. But I don't deserve to. Lucy doesn't deserve that. I'm off the drugs now. I'm sober again and I'm going to stay that way. But that doesn't mean I'll forget her like everyone else has. As long as there is someone in this hospital that thinks of her, that someone is keeping her alive. Unfortunately, that someone's me.  
  
That was all that was written. I flipped through the rest of the book. Blank pages. I sighed.  
"Not mentioning Lucy only made the pain worse," I told Jing-Mei sadly. She took the book and read it herself.   
"Oh dear," she sighed.  
"Do you know anyone else that might help me?"  
"Do you have an idea already?" she asked me.  
"I was thinking of going to see Dave. It's a pity you two didn't work out. You were a great couple."  
"Don't I know it?" Jing-Mei laughed, "But no. He needs his space. I need time. Maybe in time we'll get together again."  
"Don't procrastinate too long, or he'll slip through your fingers," I seemed to know that too well. As if I'd done it before.  
"That's good advice, Lucy, good advice indeed." 


	3. Splitting Image

I knocked on Dave's door. Curiously, he wasn't home. I frowned. What would Dave be doing on a Saturday? Shrugging, I took a taxi to see the Bentons.  
"Hello Lucy," Cleo greeted me warmly when she saw me at the door. She was becoming more tired these days. I could see it in her eyes. But she let me in. I smiled at Reese and tried to say hello and ask how he was. My sign language wasn't perfect. But he seemed to get the message and kindly nodded to say he was fine.  
"What brings you to our home this early?" she asked.  
"Um... This'll be hard to say..." I was finally realizing how painful a subject this must be for people.  
"Have a seat. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."  
"Do you know where your husband is?"  
"Do you want to speak with him?" she sounded surprised.  
"I'd like to speak with both of you," I told her. Cleo nodded.  
"I'll get him." When Cleo was away, Reese approached me and signed something.  
"I'm sorry... what?" I asked. He smiled. He could lip read a bit and new medical sciences were trying to see if they could do something about his deafness. He walked over to the kitchen, got out a glass and a carton of orange juice, and pretended to pour it.  
"Oh, no, thank you, Reese," I said, shaking my head. He shrugged and walked over to his easel.  
He was a brilliant painter.  
I walked over to see what he was painting. In the front was a bird, it looked like a parrot, perched on the branch of a tree in the rainforest. In the background was gray sky and fallen trees.  
"Very cheery," I said to myself sarcastically.  
"Yes, Lucy, what can I do for you?" Peter's voice made me jump. I smiled at them.  
"What I'm about to say may make you feel uncomfortable or angry with me, but I just have to know."  
"You won't make us angry, Lucy," Cleo assured us. There was a pause as I debated. I had to ask. Why was I holding back? I'd been more forthright with Jing-Mei and Elizabeth. Why was I hesitant to ask Mister and Mrs. Benton? Maybe it was the old, cautious part of me that I'd suppressed the day I found out about Luka. But, in the end, I did ask.  
"What can you tell me about John Carter and Lucy Knight?"  
They're reaction was as I expected. Surprised, unnerved, questioning... but they spoke about it. Cleo told most of it. Peter was quieter. I listened to the tales they told me of both Lucy and Dr. Carter with great interest. My curiosity was returning swiftly. When they had finished, Cleo showed me to the door.  
"I hope we helped you," Cleo said. I smiled and nodded.  
"Yes, thank you."  
"I apologize for Peter. He's... well, he and Dr. Carter were very close. In fact, Peter was his mentor and dear friend."  
"That's alright. I understand it's a tender subject. Well, I have places to go. Goodbye!" I shouldered my backpack, took out my phone, and called another cab.   
  
"Lucy, hi, she's been expecting you," Dave grinned at me. I was surprised to see him at Kerry's house, but here he was, answering her door.  
"What are you doing here?" I asked him. Dave shrugged.  
"Eh, Weaver's always found it difficult to talk to you. She called me over to make it easier. We know each other better, don't we, kiddo?" Dave grinned at me. Even 16 years after his departure from County, I remember everyone, my parents, the Bentons, Kerry Weaver especially, saying that Dave hadn't changed (or "grown up" as Kerry puts it.)  
"How did you know I was coming?"  
"Hey, save the questions for the great and all-knowing psychic, Weaver!" Dave led me into the living room where I saw the 'great and powerful Weaver' sitting on a couch, drinking tea. I looked at him with jesting skepticism.  
"Yeah, Dave, very great and all-knowing."  
"Don't count your chickens..." Dave warned.  
"Hello, Lucy." Kerry gave me a warm look.   
"How did you know I was coming?"  
"I'm psychic."  
"No, really," I said with small laughter.  
"Your parents called me and said you might be over to talk about John and Lucy," Kerry answered with another sip of her tea.  
"Oh..." I said quietly, looking at my feet. I didn't want to talk about Abby and Luka right now. Did they call her to tell her to bring me home? If they did, I would be very angry.  
"They also said that you were on a quest for knowledge. To find information about your father and your namesake," Kerry continued, "I know your namesake and I know that your mother wasn't speaking about Luka. So I assumed she told you about Dr. Carter?" I nodded. She smiled again and took another sip of her tea.  
"I'll give it to you straight, Lucy. I'm sick, you know that, right? I believe I'll probably die soon because I refuse to get treatment. I just want to stay here and die in peace, in my home and not in my workplace. And I also wanted to tell you about both Lucy and Carter before I die. And so here it goes." Kerry explained everything. She explained how Carter and Lucy had always lusted after each other and Carter kept denying it. Kept mistaking it for any other emotion. Anything but love. Kerry didn't know why he kept denying it. But she did know one thing.  
"One time he actually talked to me," she said, "He sat down in the lounge and we talked about it. He said, 'Kerry, can I tell you something as a friend?' and I said yes but he wanted to be sure that I'd react as a friend would and that I wouldn't say anything. I told him I would never betray his trust. So, he told me that he'd figured out how he felt towards Lucy and he was going to tell her when she graduated. A few weeks later, they were stabbed and she died. That's when he took that silver locket around your neck and threw it at her grave."  
"Elizabeth picked it up," Dave added, "Elizabeth and I went with Carter to her grave. It was a few weeks after the stabbing when Carter was working at County again. He'd missed the funeral and wanted to see her grave. When he threw the necklace at the grave, I heard him mumble something, but didn't hear what and Elizabeth picked up the necklace."  
"Elizabeth never told me that..." I said, puzzled. She had noticed the necklace on me, I know she had, because she had glanced at it so often while talking to me.  
"She probably didn't want to say anything about it because..." Dave started, but Kerry cut him off.  
"She doesn't need to hear that, Dave. She wants to know about John and Lucy."  
"But..."  
"Dave..." Kerry gave him an icy stare and he fell silent. I looked from one to the other, confused. What could be so bad about finding a necklace at a grave? I voiced the question.  
"It's not so much where the necklace was thrown as it was-"  
"Dave, if you don't shut up this instant-"  
"Kerry, would you let me finish a sentence for once?" Dave screamed, annoyed. Kerry was shocked.  
"OK, go ahead. I just didn't want you to frighten the girl!" Kerry said.  
"Trust me, I won't be scared," I said with a smile. I wasn't even afraid of the dark when I was three.  
"As I was saying," Dave continued, eyeing Kerry closely, "It's not so much where the necklace was thrown as to what Carter said when he threw it."  
"I thought you said you didn't catch it," I said, confused again.  
"Well, I didn't..." Dave said, "But Elizabeth did."  
"What did he say?"  
"'I'm sure, then, that she'll look exactly like you.' That's a direct quote." There was silence. Was this supposed to scare me?  
"Lucy, did you look at the picture in your locket?" Kerry asked.  
"Yeah."  
"Have you looked in the mirror?" she asked. I then realized. Those bright blue eyes, the straw blond hair... I was looking at an exact reflection, an exact reflection... Of a part of me that died eighteen years ago. 


End file.
